2025 Federal Tax Brackets and Rates
Published April 1, 2026 · Updated April 2026 · Source: IRS Revenue Procedure
The 2025 federal income tax has seven marginal brackets, ranging from 10% to 37%. Bracket thresholds are inflation-indexed each year by the IRS through Revenue Procedure. Below are the complete brackets for all four filing statuses, the federal standard deduction, a worked example, and notes on how the marginal system actually plays out for a typical filer.
How the Marginal Bracket System Works
The U.S. federal income tax is progressive, but in a specific technical sense: each bracket rate applies only to the portion of taxable income that falls within that bracket. A single filer earning $75,000 in 2025 taxable income does not pay 22% on the whole $75,000. Instead, the first dollar of taxable income is taxed at 10%, the dollars from there up to the second-bracket threshold are taxed at 12%, and only the dollars above the second threshold are taxed at 22%. This is bracket "stacking" and it is the reason your effective tax rate is always lower than your top marginal rate.
Two adjustments come before bracket stacking. First, the standard deduction (or itemized deductions on Schedule A) is subtracted from gross income; below-the-deduction income is effectively taxed at 0%. Second, above-the-line adjustments such as the deductible half of self-employment tax and traditional IRA contributions reduce gross income before the deduction is applied. The remaining figure — taxable income — is what runs through the bracket schedule.
2025 Single Filer Brackets
| Rate | Taxable Income Range |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $11,925 |
| 12% | $11,925 to $48,475 |
| 22% | $48,475 to $103,350 |
| 24% | $103,350 to $197,300 |
| 32% | $197,300 to $250,525 |
| 35% | $250,525 to $626,350 |
| 37% | $626,350 and above |
2025 Married Filing Jointly Brackets
| Rate | Taxable Income Range |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $23,850 |
| 12% | $23,850 to $96,950 |
| 22% | $96,950 to $206,700 |
| 24% | $206,700 to $394,600 |
| 32% | $394,600 to $501,050 |
| 35% | $501,050 to $751,600 |
| 37% | $751,600 and above |
2025 Head of Household Brackets
| Rate | Taxable Income Range |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $17,000 |
| 12% | $17,000 to $64,850 |
| 22% | $64,850 to $103,350 |
| 24% | $103,350 to $197,300 |
| 32% | $197,300 to $250,500 |
| 35% | $250,500 to $626,350 |
| 37% | $626,350 and above |
Standard Deductions (2025)
- Single: $15,000
- Married filing jointly: $30,000
- Head of household: $22,500
The standard deduction is subtracted from gross income before bracket rates are applied. Filers whose deductible expenses (mortgage interest, state and local taxes capped at $10,000, charitable contributions, large medical expenses) exceed the standard amount can itemize on Schedule A instead. After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 raised the standard deduction substantially, the share of filers who itemize fell to roughly 10%.
Worked Example: $75,000 Single Filer
A single filer earning $75,000 in gross wages with no itemized deductions pays the following federal income tax in 2025:
- Subtract the standard deduction: $75,000 - $15,000 = $60,000 taxable income
- Apply the marginal rates to each bracket — 10% on the first $11,925, 12% on the next slice up to the second threshold, 22% on income above the second threshold
- The total tax works out to roughly 14% to 16% of taxable income — the effective rate, which is meaningfully lower than the 22% top marginal bracket
For an exact figure on any income level, run your numbers through the TaxCompare income tax calculator, which stacks the brackets the same way Form 1040 does.
What This Article Does Not Cover
Several federal items intentionally fall outside this article. Tax credits — child tax credit, EITC, Saver's Credit, dependent-care credit — are not modeled here; they reduce tax dollar-for-dollar after the bracket calculation and depend on dependents and income phase-outs. Alternative minimum tax (AMT) applies to a small share of high-income filers with specific deduction patterns and runs as a parallel computation on Form 6251. FICA payroll taxes (6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare) and the additional 0.9% Medicare tax for high earners are separate from income tax. Capital gains use a separate preferential rate schedule (0%, 15%, or 20% for long-term gains) — covered at /calculator/capital-gains. State income tax, where applicable, is on top of the federal calculation.
Where the Numbers Come From
All figures on this page come from the official IRS Revenue Procedure for tax year 2025. The IRS releases the inflation adjustments each fall, with the document published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. Statutory rates (the 10% / 12% / 22% structure itself) are set by Congress; the IRS adjusts the income thresholds within that structure annually. The Congressional Research Service publishes detailed analyses of major federal tax provisions if you want the legislative history. The Tax Foundation publishes complementary analysis on the distributional impact of bracket changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 2026 federal tax brackets?
For 2025, the federal income tax has seven marginal brackets: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. The income thresholds for each bracket are inflation-indexed annually by the IRS through Revenue Procedure. The standard deduction for single filers is $15,000 and $30,000 for married filing jointly. These figures come directly from the IRS publication for the current tax year.
How do tax brackets actually work?
Federal income tax brackets are marginal — you pay each rate only on the income within that bracket, not on your entire income. A single filer earning $50,000 pays 10% on the first roughly $11,600, 12% on income from there to about $47,150, and 22% only on income from $47,150 to $50,000. The result is that the effective tax rate (total federal tax divided by taxable income) is always lower than the top marginal bracket. The IRS Form 1040 tax tables compute this stacking automatically.
What is the standard deduction for 2026?
For tax year 2025, the federal standard deduction is $15,000 for single filers, $30,000 for married filing jointly, and $22,500 for head of household. Income up to the standard deduction is effectively taxed at 0%; only income above the deduction is allocated across the seven brackets. Filers can itemize on Schedule A instead when their deductible expenses exceed the standard amount, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 made the standard deduction high enough that roughly 90% of filers now take it.
When does the IRS update the brackets?
The IRS publishes annual inflation adjustments through a Revenue Procedure released in the fall, applicable to the following calendar year. The thresholds for tax year 2026 were set by Revenue Procedure 2025-XX (the IRS designates each year's document with a sequential number). Statutory rate changes — moving from 22% to a different rate, for example — require an act of Congress and are independent of the annual inflation indexing.
Are state tax brackets included on this page?
No — this article covers federal brackets only. State income tax brackets, where applicable, are covered on the per-state pages. Nine states have no broad-based personal income tax. Among states that do, structures range from flat single-rate (Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah) to progressive multi-bracket schedules (California, New York, Hawaii, and others). The Tax Foundation publishes annual state-rate comparisons; per-state details are on the TaxCompare state pages.
About This Data
Bracket thresholds and standard deduction figures from the IRS Revenue Procedure for tax year 2025. State and policy context: Tax Foundation; legislative history: Congressional Research Service. Last refreshed April 2026. See the full methodology. This article is informational only and is not tax advice; consult a qualified preparer for filing decisions.